BROKEN HEARTS

BROKEN HEARTS

Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

 February 14, 2012

Has your heart ever been broken by someone you loved or by circumstances beyond your control?

Granddaughter Megan Jewell's Drawing

Can anything good ever come from a broken heart?

 The Bee Gees released a contemporary ballad in 1971:  "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart".  It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb in August 1970, when the Gibb brothers had reconvened following a period of break-up and alienation.

 Listen to their song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOGODoE4qKc

Has your heart ever been broken...by someone you loved...by circumstances beyond your control?

Daughter Faith Fu Ju's Drawing of Her Broken Heart.
Faith said:  "I have two hearts...one for China,
where I was born, and one for my new country, America."

Can anything good come from a broken heart?

Perhaps our broken heart is exactly the place where we find our destiny.

 "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God."

 Quote From:  Bob Pierce (1914-1978), founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse (now headed by Franklin Graham).

 Valentine's Day is all about love.  It's the second-biggest day for cards - after Christmas.  About 150 million people will send cards this Valentine's Day...according to the Greeting Card Association.

Here's a vintage Valentine postcard by Ellen Clapsaddle, the most prolific American commercial artist of postcards and greeting cards of her time.

Ellen Clapsaddle's work is highly collectible and  easily recognizable because of her unique style.  She gave the world beauty, yet her heart and spirit had been broken. 

I discovered Ellen's story at http://vintagefeedsacks.blogspot.com/2012/01/vintage-flowers.html#uds-search-results.

Ellen Clapsaddle was born in 1865 in New York.  She attended art school on a scholarship and upon graduation supported herself and her mother giving art lessons as well as painting and portrait work that she was commissioned to do for wealthy clients.

 At that time Germany was the center of the high end publishing world and she spent several years in Germany refining and perfecting her art working with engravers at the German publishing factories. Upon her return to the United States she formed the Wolf Company and was the first and only female artist of her time to establish her own publishing company with the financial backing of the Wolf brothers. She was the sole artist and designer for the Wolf Company.

The souvenir postcard industry was booming and Ellen and the Wolf brothers were making a lot of money which they invested in the German factories that produced the greeting cards and postcards she was creating. And then World War I came along in 1914. Most of the factories in Germany were leveled as a result of the war as well as all of Ellen's artwork and records. With the destruction of her entire life's work and penniless, Ellen traveled to Germany during this period to see if there was anything left of her work to save.

 When she arrived in Germany and realized that her life's work was gone as well as her life savings Ellen wandered the streets and witnessed the horrors of war first hand. Not having heard from Ellen the Wolf brothers borrowed money and traveled to Germany to search for her. When they finally found her wandering the streets she was sick and had suffered a mental breakdown. Her health and spirit were totally broken. She was 59 years old.  The Wolf brothers brought her back to the United States and took care of her for the rest of their lives.

Can anything good come from a broken heart?

Pastor John Hagee, founder and Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas (a church with more than 20,000 active members, with a national radio and worldwide television audience) asked his own father (who was a pastor for over 40 years) why Deuteronomy 6:6 says the Word of God goes UPON the hearts rather than IN the hearts. His wise father said that preachers are like farmers who sow seeds upon the ground. They preach the Word of God and the "seeds"  fall on people's hearts. Seeds of the Word of God go deep into broken hearts...but some people have hardened their hearts and do not receive God's Word and His promises.

 Deuteronomy 6:6 (New International Version):  "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts."

 God promises:  "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit."  Psalm 34:18

My prayer for you on this Valentine's Day is that you will allow God to heal your broken heart, and bind up your wounds.

Daughter Sarah's Drawing

·         John 15:9 NIV

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

·         John 13:35 NIV

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."